Home » Zambia Malawi » Southern Africa - part 5

It took a couple of hours for the coach to finally leave Lusaka after picking up most of the congregation from a local church. The front of the coach then sang African Christian hymns for about 2 hours along the bush road through the highlands to the Luangwa river bridge.

Southern Africa - part 5

Stevemonty
2005-09-23 18:44:25

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and biscuits by the end of it. There were more villages on this stretch and the hills were less steep. Through each village a near riot would break out with the kids, once one spotted me they would shout to their mates and soon I'd have ten kids running by the side of me uphill.

In the rural areas everyone cycles on the opposite side of the road so you can see the occaisional truck coming and dodge off onto the sand on the side. Bikes are really common here and a lot of time I'd have someone either riding quietly behind me, by the side and talking to me or simply proving that they can ride faster than me. At the end of the day it was getting a bit much and I found myself digging for a bit more energy to accelerate everytime I saw a kid running toward me with a big smile.
With exhaustion, sunburn, several broken spokes and a soft rear tyre I waited for a lift on from Sinda for the last 35km to Katete where I stayed at the
Tikondane community project
guesthouse. This is a guesthouse and free community education project set up by an Australian lady. There are many schools in the area but this one if for people that cannot afford education. They offer the oppurtunity for you to have a go at teaching on a short term volunteer basis and so I was able to sit in on a maths and science lesson.

The regular teacher seemed quite impressed with this and after telling me the lesson was about subraction, he subracted himself and left me there to take the lesson with no preparation at all. Although I ended up really enjoying it, the kids are really enthusiatic and keen to volunteer working out the problems I set on the blackboard. Amusingly they all answer questions in unison, and talk with their regular teacher with the catchphrase "So it is" to show they are paying attention.

For the science lesson the teacher asked me to divide the board into 2 columns, one for things that float and another for things that sink, then he left me again. I was left to improvise a lesson that took me into trying the explain density and displacement to blank faces and then talking about canoes, rafts and fishing based on my knowledge of the river learnt at Luangwa. At the end they all sang me a thank you song before I could hide away in embarrasment.
Malawi
I'm now in Lilongwe and getting myself organised before exploring Malawi.